Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Leading with Purpose and Expanding Access to Care with Dr. John A. Johnson

Transcript

Leading with Purpose and Expanding Access to Care with Dr. John A. Johnson · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

• 0:00
  This is Scott Becker with the Beckers Healthcare
• 0:02
  Podcast.
• 0:03
  I'm thrilled today to be joined by a
• 0:05
  brilliant physician leader,
• 0:08
  literally one of a kind. We're joined today
• 0:10
  by doctor John Johnson.
• 0:13
  Doctor Johnson's both a doctor. He's also an
• 0:15
  MBA.
• 0:16
  He's a leader now, chief medical officer,
• 0:20
  GEHA
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  Health, and just a fantastic person.
• 0:24
  Doctor Johnson, can you take a moment and
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  introduce yourself
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  and tell us what
• 0:30
  GEHA
• 0:30
  is focused on?
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  Thank you, Scott, and thank you for having
• 0:34
  me on your podcast today.
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  I serve as the chief medical officer at
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  the Government Employees Health Association or GEHA,
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  which is a nonprofit
• 0:45
  organization that provides benefits to millions of federal
• 0:49
  employees,
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  military retirees, and their families.
• 0:53
  GEHA's founding story
• 0:55
  dates back eighty eight years ago during the
• 0:58
  post depression era when postal workers started up
• 1:01
  the member association or health plan to protect
• 1:04
  each other and the health and well-being of
• 1:06
  federal employees and retirees and their families.
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  That mission lives on today,
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  essentially, in everything we do at GEHA.
• 1:14
  As the chief of medical officer, I offer
• 1:17
  a unique perspective
• 1:19
  in that I have a background twenty plus
• 1:22
  years in private practice
• 1:24
  as a board certified internal medicine doc in
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  the Metro Atlanta area, as well as nearly
• 1:29
  thirty years
• 1:31
  in 2027,
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  it'll be thirty years of military service
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  as a colonel and battalion commander
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  in the US Army Medical Reserve Corps. So
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  therefore
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  or I fully relate to the constituents and
• 1:44
  members that we support. And then finally,
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  I've spent the past thirteen years on the
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  managed care side,
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  big and small national and regional plans ensuring
• 1:54
  access to the highest level of care
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  and affordable
• 1:58
  quality services to our members.
• 2:00
  So that's essentially what we do at GEHA,
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  where our HQ, our headquarters,
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  is in the Kansas City area, Lee's Summit,
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  Missouri.
• 2:10
  Fantastic. And talk for a second about leadership
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  lessons.
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  You grew your own primary care practice over
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  twenty plus year period, really successful practice.
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  You've also served in the military for thirty
• 2:22
  years, so God bless you and thank you
• 2:23
  for your service.
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  Talk a little bit about some of the
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  leadership lessons
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  that that you learned over those years or
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  that you taught over those those years, doctor
• 2:31
  Johnson. Some of the things you think about
• 2:33
  when you think about leadership
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  and ideas, advice you'd give to emerging leaders.
• 2:37
  Thank you, Scott. I appreciate the question.
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  I think as I look at my career
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  that transcends
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  military,
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  public service,
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  as well as managed care executive leader and
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  physician,
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  it's all rooted in altruism or selfless service,
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  being able to balance both
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  humility with ambition,
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  being able to protect
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  the right of human connection,
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  particularly in an advent of AI emergence,
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  leading with empathy
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  and having an ability to identify the needs
• 3:11
  of those you serve, the unique needs of
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  those you serve,
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  and using your role, your influence as a
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  physician leader
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  to really bring about change.
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  I can think of several people in my
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  life that have been responsible for mentoring me
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  along my journey.
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  It started when I was in medical school.
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  I was mentored by a gentleman by the
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  name of doctor Alan Rapson.
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  The late doctor Rapson is the long time
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  National Cancer Institute deputy director
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  and a cancer research pioneer from the NIH.
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  And when I was a med student doing
• 3:46
  my research at NIH in cancer,
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  Al took me under his wing and really
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  helped me understand the importance of research,
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  clinical care, and leadership.
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  When I finished my residency at Emory, I
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  was fortunate to meet doctor Mila j Collier,
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  who was a private practice physician in the
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  Atlanta Metro Area for thirty plus years, and
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  that's when I really learned more about
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  entrepreneurial
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  spirit of being a physician and starting one's
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  own practice. I hadn't really thought of it
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  much before when I was in clinical training
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  until I finished residency and met doctor Collier,
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  who really mentored me. And then finally,
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  two mentors that really inspired me, giants whose
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  shoulders I've stood on,
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  would be doctor John Harvey and doctor Deborah
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  Martin, both of which were past presidents like
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  myself
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  of the Medical Association of Atlanta
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  and past presidents of the Medical Association of
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  Georgia, where I learned a lot about physician
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  advocacy,
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  organized medicine, and the importance of patient care.
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  So that's what I would say to future
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  emerging leaders.
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  Tap into your resources.
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  Get to know those in your network that
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  can really help you make a difference for
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  those that we serve.
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  It's fantastic. And and and and and, doctor
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  Johnson,
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  what are you most focused on and excited
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  about now? You you had this 20 or
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  more great careers of practicing physician.
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  Now you're doing chief medical officer here.
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  You've also
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  served on some not for profit boards. You
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  do a lot of different things, and you
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  serve in the military. What are you most
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  focused on and excited about as we get
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  to the second half of two thousand twenty
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  six? Absolutely. I'll start with the focus at
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  GEHA or Government Employees Health Association.
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  It's really been our ability to act as
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  a true partner
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  to the members that we serve rather than
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  just another managed care organization.
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  It's
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  about member or patient empowerment
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  focusing on health and wellness initiatives. The primary
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  focus today
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  is on empowering people
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  on the importance of being healthy and well
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  from their perspective and self empowerment
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  through education and engagement. For example, one of
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  the things that I lead is our effort
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  on health and wellness initiatives that focus on
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  the importance of preventative care.
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  We launched several
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  series
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  of webinars
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  open to everyone
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  where it's available to focus on the importance
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  of getting the necessary care you need. We've
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  launched some of them this month, and we
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  have more coming available on our website.
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  In addition,
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  we are focused heavily on digital enablement.
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  As we've looked at traditional care
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  being provided in home or in person,
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  we're moving now to an advent of member
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  engagement or patient engagement that's leveraging digital capabilities
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  for services. For example, we've looked at musculoskeletal
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  care and how our members can receive virtual
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  PT or virtual services
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  in home or the convenience of being at
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  home in a safe place. Likewise, virtual GI
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  care as well as telemedicine,
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  telehealth.
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  The prior service deliveries of brick and mortar
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  going into a provider's office,
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  going into a physician's office, going into a
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  hospital,
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  that's changing rapidly.
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  Our goal at GEHA is to ensure that
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  every member receives the right
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  care in the right place or setting at
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  the right time. And that's really been our
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  focus and what I'm most excited about this
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  year.
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  And and so I I'm gonna ask you
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  a question. And and I think I've got
• 7:30
  this right
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  that Seton Hall was a big East University
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  school in basketball.
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  And I was there and I was there
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  when that happened with PJ Carlessimo.
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  That was the question. That was the question.
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  So are you a big fan of PJ
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  Carlessimo
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  or not? Where do you stand on him,
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  Raleigh Masamino versus John Thompson? Where are you
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  at on the great coaches of that era
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  from the big leagues? Gosh. Well, for sure,
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  PJ CarliSimo,
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  I was at Seton Hall from '87
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  to '91. So, obviously, during that huge error
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  when Seton Hall made the final four, and
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  so would really love to see us get
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  there again. My wife and I are huge
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  avid fans of the Atlanta Hawks. We're season
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  ticket holders going on our fifth year, so
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  I'm a huge fan of basketball
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  and a huge fan of PJ Carlissimo.
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  Who are the Atlanta hawks? How are the
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  Atlanta hawks doing currently? I'm a Chicago Bulls
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  fan, and they're struggling horribly.
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  I'm also a Blackhawks fan. We're thirty first
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  to thirty second. We're hoping of in the
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  NHL right now, but hopefully moving in the
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  right
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  got a coaching problem.
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  What about the Hawks? I mean, back in
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  the day, when I was a fan, it
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  was Dominique Wilkins and players like that. Who
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  are the And Dominique is still a legend.
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  He still makes his presence known
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  at every Hawks game as well as commentating.
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  He and
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  I co hosted a diabetes webinar for one
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  of the Fortune 500 pharmaceutical
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  organizations, so Dominique is still around.
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  As we stand today, the hawks in the
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  Eastern Conference rank fifth,
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  only behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, who we actually
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  played last night, which was an awesome game.
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  But, if we hold our own and stay
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  above that in that top six, we're playing
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  the Cleveland Cavaliers again this week. So if
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  we can maintain ourselves,
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  we'll find ourselves in the playoffs
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  this season. So, hopefully, we stay there. Yeah.
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  I see it. Okay. So forty five and
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  thirty five, so doing fine. The Bulls are
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  are
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  thirty and forty nine. We picked up a
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  win against the Wizards who are just awful.
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  That's about the only team that we're beating
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  right now. But got it. Okay. So I'm
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  looking at standings now. So very good. Very
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  good. Very good. So let let me let
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  me ask you a question. You've had this
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  incredible
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  career. I mean, literally, just incredible,
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  and and you're still you're still a kid
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  because I could tell from when you graduated,
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  you're a little bit younger than I am,
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  so you're still a kid. So so talk
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  to me, Dion, doctor Johnson.
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  Talk about your military service, and and was
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  that fulfilling, satisfying, fascinating?
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  Talk a bit about it if you don't
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  mind. Sure. Absolutely.
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  I've had the pleasure of serving our country,
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  serving our service members around the world for
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  twenty nine years. I cannot believe the time
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  has just flown by. I was a direct
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  commission back in 1997
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  right out of medical school, and it was
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  my pleasure
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  to join the military. I was also in
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  during the whole 09/11 era,
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  and my very first mobilization
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  was shortly after the fact. And ever since
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  then, it has always been and always will
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  be one of my first loves, giving back
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  to our country, supporting our service members,
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  those that protect our borders, that protect
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  our freedom. And so that's really what being
• 10:42
  in the military is all about, that selfless
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  service, that altruism,
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  those core values resonate with me as a
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  physician,
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  as a health plan leader,
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  and
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  so I've loved my military career. I've loved
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  the people I've worked with. I've had the
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  pleasure of supporting both combat and humanitarian
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  missions all around the world,
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  starting as a physician
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  all the way up to a strategic or
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  operational leader,
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  being a battalion commander, one that almost
• 11:14
  a thousand soldiers trust me to lead and
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  make the right decisions. So I'm really proud
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  of my almost thirty year career in the
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  military,
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  which is actually why I landed at GEHA.
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  Being an organization that's been around for eighty
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  eight years really helped me understand the value
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  of providing care to those that serve others.
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  That's what the military is all about. That's
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  what GEHA is all has always been all
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  about. And so I've I've loved my military
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  career,
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  and I I have received numerous awards and
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  recognitions
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  over the past twenty nine years, and it's
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  been my my honor and privilege to serve.
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  That that that's remarkable. When when you think
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  of sort of your passions today, obviously, you
• 11:57
  do tremendous work at GEHA.
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  You you're you're an Atlanta Hawks basketball fan,
• 12:02
  still a fan of Seton Hall. Is it
• 12:04
  still the Pirates Seton Hall? Are they still
• 12:06
  the Pirates? We're still we're still the Pirates.
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  Yep. Okay. And so what are their passions
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  today? What what else gets you out of
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  bed excited today?
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  What what are you getting at on sort
• 12:16
  of health care shortages? Is AI gonna make
• 12:18
  a big difference, or do we better better
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  produce more doctors quickly?
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  What are some of the things that you're
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  passionate about that you're watching today? Yeah. That's
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  a great question, Scott, in terms of health
• 12:29
  care trends and what we're monitoring for. I
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  would say as chief medical officer, here are
• 12:34
  sort of my top five areas I focus
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  on. First and foremost is wellness, whole person
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  wellness and mental health.
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  There's a growing trend towards destigmatization
• 12:47
  of health care, particularly mental health care and
• 12:50
  services,
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  and ensuring that people receive not just physical
• 12:54
  health treatment, but also mental health treatment and
• 12:58
  addressing things like substance use disorder and the
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  crisis we find ourselves in within our country.
• 13:04
  The industry has really shifted from reactive treatment
• 13:08
  to more proactive care for, again, total person
• 13:12
  physical and mental health.
• 13:13
  Next, it's really transitioning to what we would
• 13:16
  call well care,
• 13:17
  the shift from a reactive sick care model
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  to a proactive well care, air quotes, model
• 13:24
  focused on prevention.
• 13:26
  You'll see a lot in 2026
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  and beyond focusing on women's health.
• 13:31
  It's a growing trend where total health is
• 13:35
  very important to make sure that women who
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  are at risk for cardiovascular
• 13:40
  conditions
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  during menopause receive the care they need. You
• 13:43
  mentioned AI, and I'll also talk about GLP
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  ones. Let's talk about AI. I would say
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  focusing on adequate and ethical use of AI,
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  particularly
• 13:54
  for anything that's patient facing or member facing
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  applications,
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  ensuring that there's a cross organizational
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  effort
• 14:02
  to support
• 14:03
  the appropriate use and governance. And then finally,
• 14:07
  on GLP ones, it's a growing trend where
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  it's a huge cost driver
• 14:11
  in health care, but the importance of how
• 14:14
  these medications
• 14:16
  can really be used
• 14:17
  today
• 14:18
  to transform
• 14:20
  health care itself, whether it's mitigating
• 14:23
  weight management
• 14:24
  or helping address sleep apnea
• 14:26
  or staying off,
• 14:29
  delaying
• 14:30
  dementia. So there are lots of use cases
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  for GLP-1s
• 14:35
  that we're learning more and more about, but
• 14:37
  it's the appropriate use of these medications
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  and how we can weave that into the
• 14:42
  care continuum
• 14:44
  by also managing cost as well. So those
• 14:47
  are the top five areas that I've been
• 14:49
  focused on this year.
• 14:52
  And and and let let's talk for a
• 14:53
  second about the GLP ones because it also
• 14:57
  touches something you talked about earlier
• 14:59
  about people getting care
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  in in the most appropriate setting. And and
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  I look at GP ones and some of
• 15:06
  the other care paths that people are taking
• 15:08
  today,
• 15:09
  not that long ago,
• 15:11
  everybody would had to go to get their
• 15:13
  GLP one
• 15:14
  to, let's say, an obesity specialist, to their
• 15:16
  primary care doctor,
• 15:18
  to to someone in the traditional health system.
• 15:21
  And
• 15:22
  you see now
• 15:23
  so much of the GLP ones being bought
• 15:26
  through telehealth agencies, through other efforts, and so
• 15:29
  forth.
• 15:30
  And I'd look at that and think, aside
• 15:32
  from the benefits
• 15:34
  physically of GLP ones, cardiovascular,
• 15:36
  diabetic, orthopedic,
• 15:38
  all kinds of different places, dementia you've mentioned,
• 15:41
  is there an avenue there where so much
• 15:44
  of the that care
• 15:46
  is being done outside of the traditional health
• 15:48
  system
• 15:49
  that it gives some hope
• 15:51
  to unclogging some of the health system? Are
• 15:53
  is there any connectivity there, not just physically,
• 15:56
  the actual
• 15:57
  reduction of need through people losing weight
• 16:00
  and and all the other ailments that come
• 16:01
  with obesity.
• 16:03
  But are there other lessons to be learned
• 16:05
  here on how millions and millions of people
• 16:08
  are now getting their care or they're getting
• 16:10
  the GLP ones outside of the traditional system,
• 16:13
  which must take a ton of strain off
• 16:15
  the system or or at least not add
• 16:16
  strain to the system. Any thoughts there?
• 16:18
  Yeah. Sure. So as I mentioned earlier around
• 16:22
  digital enablement,
• 16:23
  whether for GLP one access or just access
• 16:26
  to health care in general.
• 16:28
  I think there are opportunities to leverage telehealth.
• 16:32
  There are opportunities
• 16:33
  to leverage in home care
• 16:35
  or out of the traditional model, house hospital,
• 16:39
  ED,
• 16:40
  urgent care, or physician's office, how do you
• 16:43
  bring the care to where
• 16:46
  people need it the most? And I think
• 16:48
  what you're seeing is this access being opened
• 16:51
  up in the advent of physician shortages and
• 16:54
  other provider type shortages,
• 16:57
  shortage of the number of psychiatrists we see
• 16:59
  in the country, shortage of subspecialists
• 17:02
  we see in the country. So
• 17:04
  digital enablement
• 17:05
  really
• 17:06
  increases access
• 17:08
  and more empowerment
• 17:10
  so that people are more accountable
• 17:12
  for managing their own health, and that's really
• 17:14
  the way it should be,
• 17:15
  sort of shared decision making. I think GLP
• 17:18
  one usage is just one application.
• 17:20
  The same can be said for other types
• 17:23
  of medications and other service modalities
• 17:25
  where the delivery
• 17:27
  needs to be more real, more immediate, more
• 17:30
  in home. It's a lower cost setting, as
• 17:33
  I mentioned earlier.
• 17:34
  It's the right type of setting for more
• 17:37
  sustainable care.
• 17:38
  What we've seen is when patients are admitted
• 17:41
  to the hospital,
• 17:42
  we wanna really reduce the need for them
• 17:44
  to readmit or see higher escalating costs where
• 17:48
  patients are bouncing back because
• 17:50
  there are certain gaps that have not been
• 17:52
  met. So we wanna make sure that if
• 17:54
  you're at home and have a stable
• 17:57
  social safety network, that you continue to receive
• 18:00
  the care you need at home.
• 18:02
  And I think GLP ones just open up
• 18:04
  the door
• 18:05
  as one way to see how that can
• 18:07
  be done effectively.
• 18:09
  Thank you, doctor Johnson. I I I love
• 18:11
  that, and I think that's so telling. I
• 18:12
  I love that. I I wanna thank you
• 18:14
  for taking the time today to join us
• 18:16
  in the Becker's Healthcare podcast. You you're a
• 18:18
  terrific leader. It's great to visit with you
• 18:20
  and continued success in what you're doing. Literally
• 18:22
  remarkable. Thank you so much for joining us.
• 18:24
  Thank you, Scott. I appreciate it. Thank you
• 18:26
  for the opportunity. And if you wanna learn
• 18:28
  more about GEHA, please visit our website, geha.com.
• 18:32
  Or if you like to connect with me,
• 18:34
  please visit me on LinkedIn, john.a.johnsonmd.
• 18:38
  Thank you, Scott.